Hook Gigs: Bakermat in Brixton

Dutch DJ and producer Bakermat,aka Lodewijk Fluttert, performed at the Electric Brixton on Friday night ... and it. was. amazing. Not only were we lucky enough to see him bring his spectacle to London, but we also had the pleasure of speaking with him before the gig.

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Bakermat's energized Circus London set at the Electric Brixton was definitely worth waiting until 2.30am for. With rising supporting DJs in the shape of Tube & Berger, Dante Klein and Joylon getting the crowd hot and heavy in the hours beforehand, we were all suitably pumped by the time the flames went up and the Dutch producer kicked off.

With snow falling outside on the coldest night of the year, Bakermat and his guest acts made sure everyone in the venue felt as if they were in the middle of a scorching summer festival. Highlights of the night included new single 'Baby' and smash hits 'Living', 'Teach Me' and the epic 'One Day' featuring signature live saxophone and vocal performances, which had the ecstatic crowd jumping around and jagerbombs drenching the floor.

Not only is it clear that Bakermat has a super relaxed attitude, an approachable persona and an original stage style, but it is also evident that he truly is having the time of his life on stage, having fun with his shows and not taking himself too seriously.

Having already played at some of the worlds' biggest and best festivals, such as Pukkelpop, SW4 and the famed Ibiza circuit to name a few, Bakermat continues to take his Circus-themed set to every corner of the globe. Stay tuned for more summer 2017 confirmations!

So you've played two nights at the Electric Brixton. Do you have a favourite thing to do when you're in London?

Well, as opposed to a lot of people, I actually really like British food - you know, I love an English breakfast or a Shepherd's Pie ... dishes like that. I love to eat good food so I like to check out what London has got to offer. I've already seen all the main tourist things in London a hundred times, so when I come over I usually explore the food and love discovering new little restaurants. Last time I was here I discovered the Blue's Kitchen which was great, so I'll definitely go back there.

What do you love most about playing in London?

Well, London is a big city for me. I've played a few shows in Brixton before and I've done the O2 Academy as well with the whole band, so London has always been good to me ... especially because of the crowd. They are super passionate, super enthusiastic and they are ultimately there for the music, you know? They aren't just there to have a night of drinking with friends, they are there for my music and I really know that because whenever I start to play, even just the intro beat, I can see that they recognise it straight away and that's the best thing ever. London is a loving crowd.

What's been your most memorable performance so far?

I think the show I did in Paris at The Olympia is my most memorable to date. The Olympia is their national concert hall so I never thought I would be able to play there as it was something I just looked up to. Then in 2015, I got an invite to play with the full band and I was able to bring all my friends and my parents and it was just a really special night and one that I will never forget.

If you could be any other artist in the industry for a day, who would you pick and what would you do?

I would actually like to be a musician, you know, I'm not a musician - I'm a producer, I'm a DJ and I write, but I can't play an instrument, so for me I would definitely want to do that, I would love to really master an instrument. I guess I would have to be Jimi Hendrix and I would just be jamming all day on the guitar. Imagine if you had that skill ... that would just be awesome.

Is there anyone you would love to collaborate with on a track if you could go back in time?

If it was possible, I would one hundred percent want to work with the great Amy Winehouse, no doubt. I think I'm even still in love with her a little bit.

And anyone in the present you'd love to work with?

That's tough, but I'm going to have to say Adele. Definitely Adele. It's never going to happen but that would be sick!

Your rise has been pretty unconventional; you've previously explained in an interview with THE FSTIVAL CLUB how you fell into the music scene by chance. How would you describe your journey and is there anything you would change?

That's a good question. My journey has been very random and is still just one big chaos so I just go with the flow, you have to do that. I didn't have the knowledge back then about the industry and I kind of went with everything that was put in front of me. I think if I could go back I would maybe do some business-related things differently because, you know, like any new artist I signed some contracts that maybe weren't smart, but then I didn't know that at the time. You also kind of have to make those mistakes and learn from them, so I guess maybe I wouldn't change that actually. Hindsight is tricky, it sounds cliché!

You recently dropped your new track titled 'Baby', which is a huge track. How has the reaction been?

Really good actually. It was supposed to be this little club record that I released in the interim before my next big video single, but the pick up has been way better than I expected. It's selling really well and people are streaming it a lot and I'm getting all kinds of emails every day from people saying how much they love it and that they want the extended version to play, so it's quite an unexpected success, which is obviously great.

I am collaborating with a Canadian singer who has had some huge hits in the UK. We got in touch in LA and now we're working together and that will probably be the next single, and it's going to be a real feel-good house record, super happy vibes. I have a couple more collaborations in the works and actually, after these two London shows, I am going to be locking myself away in a cabin in east Holland for like twenty days, with a dog and a mountain bike and my laptop and I'm gonna be all cool with nature and just produce every day and get inspired.

Even though the weather says otherwise at the moment, summer is coming. Can you tell us what you have lined up this year?

I actually have no clue! I'm the sort of guy who only likes to know what is going on up to a time frame of two weeks. Anything beyond that and I don't like to know. My manager knows that so he looks after everything and then I just focus on the two weeks ahead of me, and I like it that way. My manager knows me inside out so it works for us, and it keeps it exciting for me too. All I do know about this summer is that it will be packed so yeah, it's very exciting!